HLM charges are exploding in this district of La Seyne, tenant representatives are organizing and taking to the front lines

Currently, the associations defending social housing tenants, foremost among them Indecosa-CGT 83, are particularly busy. And concerned. "Many tenants of Toulon Habitat Méditerranée (THM) have contacted us about the abnormally high level of regularization of charges they are currently receiving, and without having been notified," began president André Cheinet this Friday morning from the office located in the heart of the Berthe estate, in the Les Prairies residence. Around him were residents and representatives of several residences, from the north to the south of La Seyne, including elected officials sitting on the THM board of directors.

In recent days, several of them have undertaken to list the situations of each home, door to door, and are now reporting "big differences between certain similar households" and "anomalies" . Like " this family who received a receipt for almost 2000 euros , even though their situation has not changed, and who have been living in this home for years" .

"Case by case"

After recalling the recent mobilization of tenants in Beaucaire ( as well as in Maurelle a few days later, read our previous editions ), who were then received at THM with "the commitment to provide feedback" , this meeting made it possible to clarify expectations: "We are currently putting together a file of the cases reported to us and we should have a working meeting with THM management within 15 days, announced Mr. Cheinet. We will ask that all files of tenants with significant regularization be studied; that the proper functioning of devices, meters, networks be checked; and that there be no prosecution in the event of non-payment of charges while awaiting the results of these checks."

"The feeling of being second-class citizens"

A specific example of an anomaly noted: "For tenants connected to district heating, THM must rectify, according to Indecosa, the regularization which was calculated based on the surface area of ​​the dwellings and not on the actual load." Or, again: " How is it possible that a gas heating charge is claimed for a dwelling which is equipped with an independent boiler and which should therefore pay its consumption directly to the supplier?"

Around the table that day, this hard blow to the tenants' wallets was an opportunity to discuss a host of recurring problems in the neighborhoods, likely to see the expression of "the feeling of a lack of consideration from THM" and "the impression of being taken for second-class citizens" , as a resident of Mont des Oiseaux in precarious employment, in this case a home help, said.

The defense of tenants seems to be organizing as rarely before, and could well extend beyond the sole issue of unincluded charges.